Our Young Folks

Away far beyoud the north of Scotland, in tho bleak, wind-swopt Shetland Isles, is the home of the Shetland pony or Sheltie. It is tho product of it3 environment, which necessarily makes it snaall and hardy. Of the ono hundred Shetland Islands, comprising about four hundred and flfty square miles and scantily a population of about thirty thousand, not more than one-fourth are inhabited. Their bold and precipitous coasts vary in height from flvo hundred to twelve hundred feet. The rugged, rocky interior is not muoh higher, and is generally covered with scanty herbage or, more commonly, with a thick coating of moss, the only tolerably fertilo soil being in a fow valleys opening on the bays in the larger islands. A northern trend of the gulf stream tempers somcwhat the extreme cold of the islands due to their far northern latitude, but for a large part of the year the weather is wet and wildly tempestuous and fogs are heavy and frequent. Like the usual producís of an inclement climate and sparse means of subsistence, all the live stock of the group are very diminutive, and of them the Shelties are much the most important. Great numbers of these are bred on the heaths and niggardty pastures of the interior, their rough, shaggy coats and vigorous constitutions enabHng them to withstand all the severities of the long, bleak, dark, cheerless winter on the scantiest fare. When the depth of snow on the uplands prevents them from pieking up a meager ence from the withe.red pastures, they make their way down to the soa-shore and manage to make as good a livelihood on the kelp and sea-weed tossed upon the tempest-beaten beach. So larg-e has been the demand for these diminutive ponies oL late that much more attention than was formerly given to the matter has been recently bestowed on broeding andrearing them; but the condition oí the climate and vegetation of their blrth-place still keep them stunted and hardy. When captured and tamed. thpy re quire little feod oreare. They are tha smallest variety of the horse, their height varying from thirty-four to forty-four innhes, few reaohinor the latter size. They are round, close-ribbed, with small, well-shaped heads; eara fsmall; eyes large, bright and intelligent; neok short and thick, set off by a long, coarse mane; shoulders long and muscular; loins broad and well formed; quarters moderately large; back gently curving; legs and feet well formed and of a splendid texture; tail long and abundant; color chiefly bay, brown or a rusty black, chestnut and grays being extremely rare. The enduranco of Shelties is great and their strength is vastly disproportioned to their size. Indeed, they can easily carry a man upwards of one hundred and fifty pounds in weight if he can only arrango his legs so as to keep them off the ground. They can be easily trained and are affectionate and yery good-tempered. Their amiability and sizo will adapt them for the use of children, with whom they are prime favorities. For years large numbers have been imported into England for the use of her aristocratie little ones, and of lato years considerable importations have been made into this country, whero they have brought remunerative prices. The exported animal, however, nijely clipped, neatly trimmed and well fed, presents vastly moro handsomo though less pieturesque appearance than did, erstwhile, the same spare-bonod animal with coarse, shaggy coat, long, tossing mane and sweeping, bushy tail in its inclemont Northern home. Our illustration, however, engraved from the London Live Stock Journal, represents a Sheltio in its natural condition. exerpt that he has somewhat more flesh than his untamed